“Appetite” is an exploration of the space between want and need when you find yourself immersed in a world of abundance and splendor. It’s about celebrating life. It’s about allowing yourself to indulge while simultaneously never losing sight of the fact that nothing should be taken for granted.
APPETITE
on view at Arch Enemy Arts
February 2nd – 25th
Gallery Statement
written by Candice Musher
Arch Enemy Arts presents APPETITE, nine intimate new paintings by Dutch artist Dewi Plass. In this series, Plass captures characters she’s visited before–cheetahs, bunnies, birds, bees and foxes–now freshly staged as still lifes of delicious reverie.
“APPETITE is about the space between want and need when one is immersed in a world of abundance and splendor,” Dewi writes. “I like to think of my work as an artistic exploration of unknown worlds in which animals take center stage, inviting the viewer to defamiliarize elements of life as they know it and open it up to new interpretations and meanings.”
Rebelling against restraint and relishing in (cue the children from Oliver!) “Food, Glorious Food,” these pieces run both sides of the food-relationship-spectrum. From a glorious yawn of satisfaction in “Midnight Feast” to eyes that plead “don’t judge me” in “Thirst,” Plass is a master at transferring complex human emotions (or in this case, animalistic desires) onto wildly beautiful atmospheric animal portraits. With each decadent bite, Dewi’s creatures sink deeper into her sfumato haze of culinary excess, communicating both solace and caution in the pure bliss of indulgence.
Dewi Plass is a self-taught painter from The Netherlands. APPETITE is her sixth solo exhibition with Arch Enemy Arts and follows five *sold out* features with the gallery since 2017.